After a long day of work, both my husband and I love cuddling up with in bed with House of Cards or one of our favorite television shows. On the weekends, we crack open some beers or a bottle of wine and watch romantic comedies or action flicks in bed. This wasn’t always the case because early in our relationship, I had a strict no TV in the bedroom rule.

My husband grew up watching way more TV than I did. He had cable. I had PBS. He and his mom frequently ate on the couch in front of the television. My family ate dinner together every night in our dining room. The TV was always on in his home while my parents usually hit the off switch before heading to bed.

Once we started living together, I realized how dependent my husband was on TV. As soon as he walked into the door of our apartment, he switched on the TV. Trying to chat with him during his shows was pointless. I had to wait for the commercial breaks. TV comforted my husband. He escaped his stressful workday by immersing himself in dramas, sitcoms, even soap operas.

To make sure he wasn’t distracted during our pillow talk and extracurricular activities, I quickly instituted a rule against televisions in our bedroom. We watched movies and TV shows in our living room and saved the bedroom for cuddling and lovemaking. This has worked pretty well for us. Until we had kids.

Now, the bedroom has become a sanctuary for us. While our bedroom is messy, there’s no Lego pieces to accidentally step on. No apple cores hidden under a throw pillow. No stacks of books falling off end tables. (Maybe not the last one.) I can shut the door to our bedroom and forget about our messy home and kid messes, at least for the few hours before I go to sleep.

We watch our TV shows together and enjoy the peace and quiet. We catch up on our day during commercial breaks and discuss plotlines of our favorite dramas. There’s something luxurious and sweet about curling up with my husband in bed, glass of wine in hand, while we try to unravel Frank Underwood’s schemes.

For twelve years Thien-Kim Lam has been doling out relationship advice and sex tips while simultaneously hawking edible body powders and vibrators at in home toy parties. Now she’s trying to follow her own advice by keeping her buzzy devices hidden from her two young kids.She blogs about the fusion of Asian, African American, and southern culture in parenting and food at I’m Not the Nanny. She is the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box meets virtual book club that pairs a sexy romance book with sensual bedroom accessories. Every woman deserves a happy ending.